The Filipina ace battled past a tricky first-round encounter at the tournament in Italy.
Dubai: Alex Eala is set to climb the WTA rankings after securing a hard-fought three-set victory in her opening match at the Italian Open.
In the first round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome, Eala defeated Magdalena Fręch 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 in a closely contested encounter.
Heading into the Italian Open ranked world No. 42, Alex Eala earned 35 ranking points from her opening-round victory at the Foro Italico, taking her total to 1,310 points.
The result lifted the 20-year-old four places to world No. 38 in the Live WTA Rankings.
Alex Eala, who reached a career-high ranking of world No. 29 in March, could climb to as high as No. 35 if she progresses to the third round of the Italian Open.
Before starting her campaign in Rome, Alex Eala said: “I haven’t played on many of the courts here, being that it’s only my second year.
“So, I hope by the end of this tournament, I would have played on a couple more.”
Eala’s win over Magdalena Fręch was her first match since suffering a second-round defeat to Elise Mertens at the Madrid Open last month.
The Filipina youngster made a strong start to her opening-round contest, racing through the first set without dropping a game.
Magdalena Fręch responded strongly after being shut out in the opening set and raced into a 2-0 lead in the decider. However, Alex Eala mounted an impressive comeback, levelling at 3-3 before moving ahead 5-4 and eventually sealing victory after two hours and seven minutes.
The WTA 1000 tournament in Rome is Eala’s fourth event of the clay-court season and is expected to serve as her final preparation ahead of the French Open later this month.
Eala will next face Wang Xinyu in the second round on Friday. The Chinese player, seeded 31st in the tournament, advanced directly into the round after receiving a first-round bye.
